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NASB | John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 8:58 Jesus replied, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am." [Ex 3:14] |
Subject: 'I AM' or 'I exist'? |
Bible Note: Searcher: I was just poking around looking at some older threads on some of my favorite scriptures, and I noticed your comment: "Note the Jews wouldn't have tried to kill Jesus if He calimed to be a god ... for others did that and it was not blasphemy." John 10:33-35 reads in the NIV: We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." 34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'[a]? 35If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Why does Jesus appear to be offering such a poor rebuttal to his opposers' claim? Any difficulty in understanding this verse is caused by the translators. Had they faithfully rendered the Greek text in verse 33 as they did in verses 34 and 35, then it would read, “…you, a man, claim to be a god.” In the next two verses, John 10:34 and 35, the exact same word (theos, without the article) is translated as “god,” not “God.” I would also suggest that these wicked-hearted individuals would have tried to kill Jesus for claiming to be an angel, a prophet, the resurrected Elijah, or "God's Son." I'm certainly not trying to be critical of you. Our problems with interpretation often begin with poor translation. Best wishes as you search God's Word. Shirley |